TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE, OR DISAGREE WITH THE ASSERTION BY GUARDIAN JOURNALIST NICK DAVIES, IN HIS BOOK FLAT EARTH, THAT THE BRITISH JOURNALIST HAVE BECOME CHURNALIST?

University Degree Media Studies

JOURNALISM THEMES AND ISSUES

M29CMC

COURSE WORK 2

TOPIC

TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE, OR DISAGREE WITH THE ASSERTION BY GUARDIAN JOURNALIST NICK DAVIES, IN HIS BOOK FLAT EARTH, THAT THE BRITISH JOURNALIST HAVE BECOME “CHURNALIST”?

BY

ARAMIDE KING

TUTOR

FRED MUDHAI

DATE

24/04/08

Nick Davies’ Flat Earth News and ‘Churnalism’ in British Journalism: a personal response

“For journalists, the defining value is honesty - the attempt to tell the truth.

That is our primary purpose.” Nick Davies, author of Flat Earth News

An award-winning reporter Nick Davies, together with his team at the journalism department in Cardiff University, come up with a highly controversial book on global journalism and media using comprehensive analyses of around 2,000 articles from various publications – local and international including the prestigious ones in the British media industry. With his 31 years of exposure to the journalism profession, his book is an alarming expose of how journalists write news. Davies claims that his book is not to criticise individual journalists but the structures that govern and constrain them. In his book, Davies asserts that British journalists has become ‘churnalists’ and involved on what he called ‘churnalism’. This paper discusses the extent of agreement on Davies’ assertion. Davies’ assertion is an agreeable concept as it assesses the current condition and ability of British (and even global) journalists and the quality of news stories they write in reference to their actual duties and conformity to the standard principles of journalism. It builds on the idea that journalism is about gathering factual information based on an actual account, writing, and delivering it to the masses.

What is ‘churnalism’? Who are the ‘churnalists’?

‘Churnalism’ is a newly coined term in journalism and presented by Davies in his book. It is rooted on the combination of two words – churn and journalism. In coming up with the term ‘churnalism’, journ was taken out of the word journalism and was replaced by churn. Churn, as defined in most dictionaries, is to stir, shake or agitate in order to come up with something. Journalism, on the other hand, is the process of collecting, writing, editing, and presenting factual information in forms of articles served in newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasts.

Churnalism is “the practice of continually regurgitating unchecked stories that may or may be true, which passes for journalism in the much of the British press” (Gopsill, 2008:15). It is the way in which journalists repeatedly recover stories and highly rely from wire services (e.g. Press Association) and press releases. Heidi Dawley (2008), in an online article, describe ‘churnalism’ as the writing (or typing) and less real reporting of small editorial staffs. A person, basically a journalist that is doing churning of news is considered a churnalist. Davies noted the widespread cost-cutting among news organizations as the underlying reason in doing churning of information (Merrill, 2008). It is not because of laziness or disinterest of journalist towards their profession but it is due to limited financial resources that restrict them in performing journalistic functions. ‘Churnalism’ battles on the aspect of accuracy and truth or honesty. According to Davies, part of the journalist’s job is “to check facts to get to the truth” (Gopsill, 2008: 15). In churning, the ‘ch’ is considered as “the process of checking” that “has been reduced to a joke procedure where journalist pick up, or sometimes make up, an allegation, trot off to the side, get a quote and stick it in the paper” (2008: 15). The problem in ‘churnalism’ is the lack of accuracy and truthfulness on the information being collected. There is also the absence of verification or checking. ‘Churning’ limits the journalists in doing more exploratory efforts, like interview or actual account of important figures or mains sources of first-hand facts. Davies also retorts that the process of ‘churning’ does not enable journalists to get into the heart of the matter or to the truth. Instead, this will expose journalists to high risk of serious libel cases. Because of ‘churnalism’, the news presented by journalists is full of unverified truths and propaganda.

Response

Nick Davies is correct on his assertion that British journalists, or even global-based journalists, are becoming ‘churnalists’. The agreement to Davies’ assertion does not need advanced knowledge in journalism in order to grasp the implied meaning. The following are arguments that will show the extent of my personal agreement to Davies’ assertion.

The existing condition of human life and activity is supported by various factors that contribute to a so-called convenient way of living. ‘Churnalism’, to some extent, is considered to be prompted by the convenience of technology. Further, the pressures on journalists in performance of their ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Response

Nick Davies is correct on his assertion that British journalists, or even global-based journalists, are becoming ‘churnalists’. The agreement to Davies’ assertion does not need advanced knowledge in journalism in order to grasp the implied meaning. The following are arguments that will show the extent of my personal agreement to Davies’ assertion.

The existing condition of human life and activity is supported by various factors that contribute to a so-called convenient way of living. ‘Churnalism’, to some extent, is considered to be prompted by the convenience of technology. Further, the pressures on journalists in performance of their responsibilities as watchdogs, social change agents or catalysts are immeasurably high. In order to deliver what is expected of them, journalists tend to cross against the standard principles of the practice of journalism. Finally, the role of academia in building up the knowledge of people, particularly the students, about journalism is revitalized.

Media in general influences everyone. Journalists as elements of media hold the ability to inform, educate, change, and establish norms. It is recognised that journalists are powerful individuals guided with professional standards and dedicated in duty of serving people. However, there are cases when journalists and the journalism become destructive (e.g. abuse of power). In UK alone, there is an increasing interest on the role and power of journalists and journalism. For example, Schlesinger (2006) accounts the activities of various institutions like the Royal Society of Arts and The Economist, the Royal Society of Edinburg, and The Guardian in exploring journalism issues. The Royal Society of Arts and The Economist magazine funded a dialogue in London revolving around the issue of whether journalists are armoured with too much power. A one-day conference held by The Royal Society of Edinburgh focused on the question of losing public trust among the media in Scotland. A whole issue of The Guardian published in 2005 illuminated the criticisms of journalism by a range of figures in public life. Considering that there is an increasing awareness of people about the issues confronting journalists and journalism, ‘churnalism’ is a new addition to the list. This has to be categorically discussed and addressed by the concerned parties – the journalists, the structures behind them, the government, the academia, and so on.

‘Churnalism’ is somewhat related to the emergence of technology in media. Aside from the limitations in financial resources that was considered by Davies as the precursor of the process, the convenience brought about by technological mechanisms allow journalists to succumb into less journalism-based practices. The Internet nowadays presents boundless opportunity to every person to accumulate body of information and use it on their own advantages (or disadvantages). Numerous studies (i.e. Delano, 2000; Hammond, Petersen, and Thompsen, 2000; Kavny and Yelsma, 2000; Stemple, Hargrove, and Bernt, 2000; Vargo, et al., 2000; Zavoina and Reichert, 2000) recognised the effects of the introduction of new technology (including the Internet) in the field of mass media particularly on the utilisation and consumption of media messages using the traditional modes of mass communication, changes in journalist routines, and shaping customary news values.

The process of journalism is based on news gathering. News gathering deals with reporting, finding out, and recording main elements and information for a news story. Friendly (1999) identifies common ways used by journalist to produce facts used in writing news articles such as off-the-record, for background only, not for direct quotation, hold for release, and private gatherings. Journalists may employ one or more ways in gathering information for the completion of their stories. In special cases, journalists consider the medium where a news story is to be channelled since different media forms are directed to different audiences. But generally, journalists share almost the same ways of gathering information. The standards of journalism pay attention on the issue of credibility and reliability of sources. In ‘churnalism’, credibility is not a big issue but reliability is. Journalists’ reliance to wire service providers hinders them to obtain first-hand information and establishing network of valid and reliable sources of facts or information. According to Bovaee (1999), journalism is an activity done by the journalists where it provides answer to the so-called 5Ws and 1H – who, what, when, where, why, and how. In ‘churnalism’, the ‘churnalist’ addresses the 5Ws and 1H but checking the facts to get into truth is another story. Journalists who are asked to write about a certain issue or event in another country, for example, have a tendency to be inclined in churning using the wire services or Internet since they are not able to go there and have a personal account of the issue or event due to budget constraints. Because everything could be accessed in matter of convenience, journalists are no longer mindful on whether or not the information that have are accurate and truth.

In support to Davies’s assertion is the acceptance of the certainty of the presence of immeasurable pressure confronting journalists. Journalists have a great deal of responsibilities being watchdogs, social change agents, or catalysts of the society. In order to deliver what is expected of them, journalists tend to go against the standard principles of the practice of journalism resulting to irresponsible or unethical journalism. Time is an essential factor in coming up with accurate and truthful news. The task of the journalists is ironically inclined in providing the latest information to the public masses in the fastest rate of time possible. Journalists are expected to work on certain projects in a significant time frame. For example, daily newspapers have shorter time allocation for journalists to come up with their stories while weekly newspapers have longer time to spend. In order to reconcile the pressure of the work and time resources, journalists may violate conventions of journalism. Churning is an example.

News writing is an issue in ‘churnalism’. A study conducted by Matheson (2003: 170) explores the process of news writing in British print news journalism. He acknowledge the absence of “well-developed set of ideas in the discourse of journalism to describe what is good about news writing, what good writing would be or about how to go about producing it” . Writing news is difficult because there has to be objectivity in reporting, accurate facts, and right words to use. For Matheson (2003: 178), “The good journalist thrives on the limitations imposed on news writing and good writing can to an extent be defined as writing in this context”. In ‘churnalism’, the process of news writing violates the provision of verification or checking of facts and sources. The ‘churnalist’ is more likely to recycle information from previous sources without the knowledge if it is right or not. The distinction of accuracy and truth is also argued by Davies’ book. For most British journalists, accuracy is very important to them particularly in exercise of their works. The reliance of most ‘churnalists’, or even British national newspapers, to wire services or press releases makes the provision of accuracy to be inaccurate. News articles are based from a number of sources that are added or churned together. In addressing accuracy and truth, there is lacking ability on the part of the agency. The only question in ‘churnalism’ is the reliability and soundness of the information presented as based on second-hand sources. Some news reports can be packed with baseless information. This is not just attributed to pressure or the inability of the journalist to work efficiently, but also on the different sources they relied into. Some sources, with exemption to others, lack the provision of credibility (Mitchell, 2005). Journalists must analyse and assess their sources before considering their application. Sources can be a potential origin of problem and can promote bias to the journalist’s reports especially if they have more control. For instance, a news article with false or inaccurate information is hard to retract or may cause severe damages on the part of the journalist and the agency (e.g. libel or issue of credibility). As Carruther (2000) argues, all news has value in different perspectives of people. All journalists must be effective in coming up with truthful stories, or stay on the ethical practice of their profession

Finally, the agreement to Davies’ assertion of ‘churnalism’ in British journalism industry will revitalise the role of academia in building up the knowledge of people, particularly the students, about journalism. This is also the same belief of most journalism scholars in the article of Merrill (2008). It is recognised that the news media respond on recreating and constructing historic events for several reasons (Bailey, Brown, and Chermak, 2003). In that case, future journalists must be equipped with the best set of abilities that is founded on acceptable journalism standards. Many research studies work on exploring journalism education, training, and ethics in Britain (i.e. Hanna and Sanders, 2007; Ball, Hanna, and Sanders, 2006; Delano, 2000). The limitation of financial resources is also a factor why most colleges and universities are unable to expound the curriculum in journalism focusing on latest trends and demands of the profession and the society and people it serve (Merrill, 2008). Future journalists should be immersed in inclusive training and experiences that is directed towards efficiency in journalistic functions. ‘Churnalism’ is discouraged and not supported in any journalism literature. The role of the academia in battling against the practice of ‘churnalism’ is basic. The academia must inculcate basic journalism skills to students that will lead to mastery of the profession. Considering the limitation of budget in coming up with advanced subjects, the preference on the traditional ways of news gathering and writing is still effective. The convenience of new technology should be used as addition to the existing effectiveness of standard journalism practices. The findings of Hanna and Sanders (2007) on the motivation of journalism students in taking the course reverberates the findings of past studies stating that students are still committed on serving the people and society by becoming journalists. By looking on this perspective, the academia must shape and support them in all means possible. To end, I also have the same belief as Davies that “there are still a lot of seriously good journalists working in British media” (Gopsill, 2008: 17). The academia is credited to this and must continue to produce real journalists and not ‘churnalists’.

References

Bailey, F. Y., Brown, M., & Chermak, S. (Eds.). (2003). Media Representations of September 11. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Ball, A., Hanna, M., & Sanders, K. (2006). What British journalism students think about ethics and journalism. Journalism & Mass Communication Education, 61(1) Spring, 19-32.

Bovaee, W. E. (1999). Discovering Journalism. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Davies. N. (2008). Flat earth news: An award-winning reporter exposes falsehood, distortion and propaganda in the global media. London: Chatto and Windus.

Dawley, H. (2008, February 19). Sam's club: Journalism to churnalism. Media Life. Retrieved April 18, 2008 from, http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Popcult_45/Sam_s_club_Journalism_to_churnalism.asp

Delano, A. (2000). No sign of a better job: 100 years of British journalism. Journalism Studies, 1(2), 261–272.

Friendly, A. (1999). Attribution of news. Nieman Reports, 53(4) Winter, 119.

Gopsill, T. (2008, April). Life on flat earth. Journalist, p. 15-17. Retrieved April 18, 2008 from, http://www.scribd.com/word/full/2422423?access_key=key-17p3aid8yrkmxqyfvyg2

Hanna, M., & Sanders, K. (2007). Journalism education in Britain. Journalism Practice, 1(3), 404-420.

Hammond, S. C., Petersen, D, & Thomsen, S. (2000). Print, broadcast and online convergence in the newsroom. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 55(2), 16-26.

Kavny, J. M., & Yelsma, P. (2000). Displacement effects of online media in the socio-technical contexts of households. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 44, 215-229.

Matheson, D. (2003). Scowling at their notebooks: How British journalists understand their writing. Journalism, 4(2), 165–183.

Merrill, G. (2008, April). Criticising the critical. Journalist, p. 16. Retrieved April 18, 2008 from, http://www.scribd.com/word/full/2422423?access_key=key-17p3aid8yrkmxqyfvyg2

Schlesinger, P. (2006). Is there a crisis in British journalism? Media, Culture & Society, 28(2), 299-307.

Stempel, G. H., Hargrove, T., & Bernt, J. P. (2000). Relation of growth of use of the Internet to changes in media use from 1995 to 1999. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 77, 71-79.

Vargo, K., Schierhorn, C., Wearden, S. T., Schierhorn, A. B., Endres, F. F., & Tabar, P. S. (2000). How readers respond to digital news stories in layers and links. Newspaper Research Journal, 21(2), 40-54.

Zavoina, S., & Reichert, T. (2000). Media convergence/management change: The evolving workflow for visual journalists,’ The Journal of Media Economics, 13(2), 143-151.